The brutal truth of serfdom in old Xizang

The typical form of feudal serfdom originated in medieval Europe as a system of coercion and exploitation beyond economic terms. The core of serfdom was twofold: the monopolistic ownership of the basic means of production, such as land, by the serf owners; and the bondage of individual serfs to serf owners.

According to statistics gathered prior to democratic reform, a staggering 99.7 percent of all the 2.2 million hectares of cultivated land in Xizang was owned by the local authorities (856,000 hectares), the monasteries and high-ranking monks (810,000 hectares), and aristocrats (528,000 hectares), while the remaining 0.3 percent of cultivated land was owned by a handful of land-tilling peasants in remote areas.

Most pastures were controlled by herd owners. A ballad among serfs of the time goes: Even if the snow mountain melts into butter, it is the property of the masters; even if the river water turns into milk, there is not a single drop for us.

In old Xizang, the bondage of the serfs to their owners was much more serious than that in medieval Europe where serfs were allowed to become free people through redemption. All serfs, be they peasants, herdsmen, craftsmen, merchants, or wandering beggars, were possessed by their owners. Such bondage in old Xizang was called "Miza" ("men's root" in Tibetan), meaning that all serfs must have their roots, namely, serf owners.

Under serfdom in old Xizang, serfs were mercilessly exploited, spending two-thirds of their time each year working on the serf owners' land without pay. They had to work more than twelve hours a day, plus temporary assignments. Despite their hard work, they could not afford a basic living and had to borrow usurious loans from serf owners, which were, in many cases, turned into debts for several generations. The major decisions, such as marriages and funerals, were also in the hands of serf owners.

Religio-political integration and the fate of the Dalai Lamas

Before the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1632-1911) and the democratic reform carried out by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Xizang, it was monk officials represented by the Kashag who presided over the local authorities and exercised political power, with members of many noble families taking core administrative positions in rotation.

As can be seen from the composition of local administration in old Xizang, the religious power of Tibetan Buddhism was deeply embedded in the political structure, and the monk groups occupied a dominant position in local politics. This was a typical manifestation of religio-political integration.

In the "Tibet issue" discourse by the Dalai Group in exile and a few Western politicians, religion is taken as the core and so the retention or abolition of the local authorities in old Xizang is regarded as an issue of freedom of religion and belief. However, such claims fail to recognize that religio-political separation is the premise on which freedom of religion is exercised and guaranteed.

Before democratic reform, the Dalai Lamas served not purely as religious leaders, but as the heads of the local authorities; the Kashag regime appointed both monks and lay believers as officials, with the former occupying a higher status. This way, religio-political integration placed religion in the turbulence of politics, a scenario in which monks, who were supposed to be dedicated to the study and promotion of Buddhism, had to stay in endless agitation and fear because they participated in politics. Monks and aristocrats fought brutally for political power, and even the Dalai Lamas, as the supreme leaders of politics and religion in Xizang, were not spared.

According to Ya Hanzhang, a prominent Chinese scholar of Tibetan studies, "The Dalai Lamas from the 9th Dalai (1805-1815) to the 12th Dalai (1856-1875) all died in their youth. Such unexpected deaths have triggered suspicion that they were poisoned, but the murderers were unknown. In fact, the murderers were the upper-ranking lamas and herd owners in Xizang. These deceased Dalai Lamas were all victims of political struggles for power and profits."

It is true, as the American Tibetologist Melvyn C. Goldstein said, "Although religion is in a sense a harmonizing force in Xizang politics, it is also a force for division and turmoil. Various religious groups competed and jockeyed fiercely to enhance their prestige and influence, but their inability to agree on policies concerning religious interests brought disasters to Xizang history in the 20th century."

From this perspective, religio-political separation as a result of democratic reform is not an infringement on the freedom of religious belief but precisely the right thing to do to enable people believing in religion to detach themselves from political strife and to engage in the study and promotion of the teachings of the Buddha with peace of mind.

A major social transformation in the history of human rights in the world

In March 1959, a large-scale armed rebellion broke out in Xizang as the result of a long-planned conspiracy by the local authorities and the reactionary groups in the upper class in old Xizang. The rebellion was soon quelled by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and then Xizang's democratic reform was formally launched.

The reform abolished all the feudal privileges, corvée labor, and poll taxes imposed by the former local authorities in old Xizang, the monasteries, and the aristocrats on serfs and herdsmen. As a result of the reform, the basic rights of citizens in Xizang were safeguarded in accordance with the Constitution. Besides, led by the Peasants' Association, the reform took integrated measures involving both bottom-up and top-down approaches to the establishment of people's governments at different levels.

The democratic reform of the monasteries was an important part of the overall reform. It abolished the system in which monasteries assigned monk and nun quotas to counties, manors, and tribes (the grass-roots administrative units in old Xizang); it also prohibited monasteries from coercing people to become monks or nuns.

In addition, the outdated rules and hierarchy in the monasteries were abolished to make sure the monks and nuns living in the monasteries were in an equal position; corporal and other punishments were also banned in the monasteries, and all the usurious loans that the monasteries had lent to the serfs and poor lamas were abolished. Furthermore, the political rights of lamas were safeguarded; they were treated equally and entitled to personal freedom. Therefore, democratic reform was highly recognized and appreciated by both ecclesiastical and secular followers of Tibetan Buddhism.

Thanks to democratic reform, the privileges of a minority of monks and nobles were annulled, and theocracy and serfdom were abolished, which was a historic commencement of the cause of human rights in Xizang.

Thanks to democratic reform, the people in Xizang fully enjoyed the right to vote and to stand for election as part of their political rights. As citizens of the People's Republic of China, they equally enjoyed and assumed the rights and obligations stipulated in the Constitution and other laws, whether they had been serf owners, lamas, or serfs before democratic reform. Many serfs, who never enjoyed political rights under the old system, became deputies to the people's congresses and senior leaders of the Xizang Autonomous Region.

In terms of personal rights, after democratic reform, the brutal penal system in old Xizang was abolished, and former serfs truly enjoyed rights such as personal freedom and human dignity endowed by the Constitution.

In terms of economic rights, millions of serfs were given land, livestock, and other means of production as democratic reform put an end to the severely unfair situation in which a small number of monks and aristocrats occupied most of the local economic resources.

Following democratic reform, a comprehensive system of primary, elementary, higher, and vocational education was established, so that the right to education of the people in Xizang at large was fully guaranteed. In addition, the bondage of women to serfdom was abolished, and women in Xizang were given legal status equal to that of men.

Therefore, it can be concluded with great certainty that it is precisely because of democratic reform that the rights of millions of serfs (accounting for more than 95 percent of the Xizang population) to subsistence and development are guaranteed. Therefore, they truly enjoy equality and freedom as the masters of the country.

The author is Chang An, professor at Human Rights Research Center, Northwestern University of Political Science and Law.

Liu Xian /Editor    Deng Zhong /Translator

Yang Xinhua /Chief Editor    Ren Qiang /Coordinator

Liu Li /Reviewer

Zhang Weiwei /Copyeditor    Tan Yujie /Image Editor

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